Brought to our screens by Richard Curtis, famed for Four Weddings and a funeral Notting Hill, The Boat that Rocked is a comedy focusing on the Rock and Roll antics of Pirate Radio DJ’s.

Carl (Tom Sturridge), recently expelled from school is sent to spend time with his Godfather Quentin, played by Bill Nighy, in the hope that he will find some much-needed guidance. As it turns out, Quentin is the manager of ‘Radio Rock’, a sea bound Pirate Radio Station. On the boat is a motley crew of eccentrics, including The Count (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), Dave (Nick Frost) and Midnight Mark (Tom Wisdom) who are all more than willing to impart their advice on life to the impressionable young man.

Life on the water is anything but smooth with the return of the ‘Greatest DJ in Britain’ (Rhys Ifans) he Count is forced to compete for the title he feels he rightly owns. In addition, Radio Rock has fallen foul of the Government who are determined to put a stop to the station and the rock and roll lifestyle it promotes.

The Boat that Rocked captures the essence of the swinging sixties and a generation for whom music was not just a passion, but a way of life that must be protected at all costs. The tale has echoes of the legendary Radio Caroline which first broadcasted its radio channel in 1964 in foreign waters not far from Felixstowe in Suffolk. Today the Radio Caroline is synonymous with Pirate Radio and continues to broadcast, now legally, out at sea.

The film is directed by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill) and featuring an all-star cast: Bill Nighy (Love Actually, I Capture the Castle),Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (The Big Lebowski, A Most Wanted Man) and Tom Sturridge (Being Julia, Far from the Madding Crowd)

The production visited Kent in 2007 to film scenes at Squerryes Court, a 17th Century manor home in Westerham. The house is set in 20 acres of land which include beautiful gardens and a lake. The rooms that were used during the filming are open to the public.

The Boat that Rocked was released in cinemas on the 1st April 2009 and is now out on DVD.